Replacing the Tyranids with the Yuuzhan Vong (RAR)

[lord Martiya]

Just a little change of enemies: what would happen if we replaced the Tyranids with the Yuuzhan Vong as WH40k extragalactic invaders? Their military assault would start in 745.M41 in the area of Tyran, but some kind of infiltrator would already be there. Apart that, I've no other condition for this war.

[evilsoup]

Okay, I've read basically nothing of the SW EU, so take this all with a pinch of salt.

They look significantly different to humans and don't have any equivalent to Genestealers that I'm aware of, so effective infiltration can be discounted.

Don't the Vong give the New Republic a run for their money? I believe the consensus is that Star Wars and 40k ships are broadly equivalent in terms of power, while Wars has the strategic edge with faster and more reliable FTL.

Now, unless they are vastly superior to the soldiers shown in the rest of SW, the Vong are going to get stomped on the ground as soon as they hit a half-defended Imperial world.

It's impossible to determine without knowing two more things: how big is the Vong invasion force, and what is their goal? If they want to conquer habitable worlds, then they're bang out of luck no matter what (as the Imperium will see a world's atmosphere burned away before they let it fall into alien hands); if they have a sufficiently large fleet and just want to kill everything, then they could take out maybe a few dozen worlds before the IoM wears them down.

[Boeing 757]

I see this ending very badly for the Vong once they'll have revealed themselves. The Imperium is NOT the New Republic: it won't hesitate to wipe the Vong out as soon as they grasp news of the weird alien force that just showed up all of a sudden. Had the NR gotten their act together and responded just like the Galactic Empire would have, the GFFA could have been sparred from the Vong threat. Even the Vong themselves conceded this in Traitor. Point being, this is how the IoM WILL respond, so the Praetorite Vong will not have a chance to establish a significant foothold in Imperial space before some Inquisitor with nothing to do in his spare-time comes investigating the bizarre aliens that like to mutilate themselves. More over, the Imperium also has, AFAIK, many more ships and worlds within its dominion than the NR ever had throughout its woefully short tenure....

On the ground they'll be wholly wasted. Guardsmen and Space Marines will have a field day with the meelee-combat engaging Vong...and wait till the Vong see a Titan ...they'll likely lose their minds upon seeing such an "abomination." In space, there is equally no reason for believing that lance batteries will not be able to rip a Vong ship to shreds like NR turbolasers could, after they learn how to deal with dovin basals.

And then there are extraneous kinds of technology like teleporters and vortex cannons which although rather rare, will likely present themselves as a huge threat to the Vong whenever they can be utilized by the Imperium. And correct me if I'm wrong here, but with all the psykers that the Imperium holds, the yammosk trick will not work much if at all against Imperial forces....

[Feil]

How susceptible are the Yuuzhan Vong to genetically engineered plagues? Biotechnology is all well and good until the Adeptus Mechanicus gives your aircraft carrier Ebola.

EDIT:

And how resistant are they to getting their souls eaten by the nearest Chaos God? 'Nids have the advantage of being essentially immune to Chaos, courtesy of their gestalt psychic presence.

[Darth Tanner]

so effective infiltration can be discounted.

Not really, in the SW universe the Vong have been moving about disguised as various aliens or simply using agents for many years prior to their invasion fleet turning up, they shouldn’t have too much trouble moving around the Imperium but the shear xenophobia and paranoia should at least render them less effective.

Now, unless they are vastly superior to the soldiers shown in the rest of SW, the Vong are going to get stomped on the ground as soon as they hit a half-defended Imperial world.

The Vong are capable of standing up to and defeating comparable Republic and Empire armies but from what we see this may just be overwhelming numbers and orbital control rather than actually being effective as their army consists of slave fodder troops and organic beetle tanks. The Imperial guard shouldn’t have much trouble seeing as their used to not only Tyranid wave tactics but with dealing with close combat enthusiasts.

It's impossible to determine without knowing two more things: how big is the Vong invasion force

Although I don’t know how much they built once they got to the SW galaxy their fleet is vast with tens of thousands of ships at the battle of Coruscant alone and their world ships are literally the size of worlds. The Imperium can easily go toe to toe with them in small number but it lack the strategic ability to amass a sufficient force outside the defence of Terra/Mars to engage them in the numbers they can field.

so the Praetorite Vong will not have a chance to establish a significant foothold in Imperial space

It doesn’t need to though, the Imperium cannot keep track of its own planets let alone monitor the galactic fringe. The first they usually know about an incoming Tyranid swarm is when it starts devouring systems. The Vong would easily arrive without notice and have ample opportunity to build up their supplies and forces. The Imperium is also a highly fractured entity, it is largely incapable of responding to a rapid threat like a hyperdrive comparable engine equipped Vong fleet.

the Imperium also has, AFAIK, many more ships and worlds within its dominion than the NR ever had throughout its woefully short tenure

Is this true? I thought that the SW galaxy which the Republic largely controls is much more densely populated than the 40K one and also that warships were far more prevalent, even if it is true the NR enjoys a much greater ability to concentrate its strength than the Imperium which is largely broken up by the unreliability of warp propulsion and communication.

How susceptible are the Yuuzhan Vong to genetically engineered plagues? Biotechnology is all well and good until the Adeptus Mechanicus gives your aircraft carrier Ebola.

They resisted any attempt made by the Empire or New Republic so I’d imagine its not going to be a simple matter for the AdMech.

And how resistant are they to getting their souls eaten by the nearest Chaos God?

As with all crossovers its unknown. Humans survived for millennia without being eaten up as did the pre fall Eldar and other aliens. The Vong are also ‘cut off’ from the force so if that has any impact on vulnerability to chaos corruption is up to the whim of plot.

Overall I don’t see the Imperium faring very well, it can easily compete with the Vong and likely outnumbers them but it simply lacks the ability to concentrate its forces against such a mobile and numerous foe, it could never hope to pin the Vong down long enough to bring sufficient force to the table. On the other hand the Vong have consistently shown themselves to be idiots both strategically and in battle, they might well expend all their strength battering down the walls of Terra and be reduced to nothing after the slaughter.

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

It seems reasonable to assume that, being 'Force void', Vong would also have an equivalent psychic rating (probably somewhere around Rho or Sigma), and therefore no Warp presence whatsoever. Ergo, Chaos would have zero interest in them.

The Necrons, on the other hand...

[StarSword]

Now, unless they are vastly superior to the soldiers shown in the rest of SW, the Vong are going to get stomped on the ground as soon as they hit a half-defended Imperial world.

The Vong are capable of standing up to and defeating comparable Republic and Empire armies but from what we see this may just be overwhelming numbers and orbital control rather than actually being effective as their army consists of slave fodder troops and organic beetle tanks. The Imperial guard shouldn’t have much trouble seeing as their used to not only Tyranid wave tactics but with dealing with close combat enthusiasts.

Firstly, these "Tyranid wave tactics" would not have been seen yet, since the Vong are replacing the Tyranids in the scenario as per the OP. Don't know about how well the Imperium handles melee enthusiasts, though.

A good part of the reason the Vong can hold their own on the ground is because their armor makes them very hard to kill. Their armor and amphistaffs can even block lightsabers (though not indefinitely, and a heavy blow will penetrate). Admittedly this is not a unique trait even within the galaxy (rare materials such as cortosis and phrik can also block lightsaber attacks). Do we have any thoughts as to how well Vonduun crab armor can handle Imperium weaponry? (I'm asking honestly: I know almost nothing of 40K.)

It's impossible to determine without knowing two more things: how big is the Vong invasion force

Although I don’t know how much they built once they got to the SW galaxy their fleet is vast with tens of thousands of ships at the battle of Coruscant alone and their world ships are literally the size of worlds. The Imperium can easily go toe to toe with them in small number but it lack the strategic ability to amass a sufficient force outside the defence of Terra/Mars to engage them in the numbers they can field.

The real question is, how fast can they replace combat deaths? Shimmra (I think) at one point orders all warriors to take mates due to mounting losses against intragalactic forces (Warmaster Tsavong Lah is seen with a female intendant soon after).

And worldships are not planet- or even moon-size. Since they're organic starships, they do admittedly vary in size, but they average only 10 kilometers in diameter (New Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels). They're closer to colony ships than anything else. Heavily armed colony ships that can bring down Imperial-class Star Destroyers with brute force (Vector Prime), but colony ships nonetheless: each worldship destroyed is many thousands of Vong killed, including supporting civilians. I would imagine the Imperium's space forces would make targeting worldships a priority.

How susceptible are the Yuuzhan Vong to genetically engineered plagues? Biotechnology is all well and good until the Adeptus Mechanicus gives your aircraft carrier Ebola.

They resisted any attempt made by the Empire or New Republic so I’d imagine its not going to be a simple matter for the AdMech.

Not true: the Red Omega bioweapon developed by New Republic Intelligence proved quite effective on both the Vong and their tech. It wasn't deployed (barring a couple of instances) by the New Republic, its successor the Galactic Alliance, or by the Imperial Remnant, for purely ethical reasons.

[CBG]

The Vong's hate for machines (and acting on it) will make every AdMech member hate them more than he hates anything else. Just show them a hive or forgeworld conquered by the Vong.
For everyone else, they are just another kind of filthy xenos.

Vong infiltration is going to be pretty much impossible, assuming their negative psychic rating. Creatures with strong negative psychic rating tip off every psyker (and in close range even 40k normals), and psykers in 40k are much more common than jedi in SW.


Amphistaff and vong armor? I don;t remember why they weren't cut by lightsabers, so dunno for power- and force weapons. Though power fists and storm hammers should deliver insane momentum\blunt trauma even if they don't go through them. See: flying Vong

Note 1:wouldn't the stuff imperium uses in it's virus bombs be a dream weapon against the Vong and all their biotech? After all, it eats all biomatter and transforms it into explosive gas. And in case of Vong everything is biomatter.

Note 2: Assuming they all get strong negative psychic rating, it would be only a matter of time for some radical inquisitor to get an idea of directing their invasion at the Eye of Terror. Fun ensues...

[Ahriman238]

Hasn't this been done already?

The Vong have a creature that crawls over someone and becomes a second skin, allowing for infiltration missions. At the same time, all of the infiltrators but Nom Anor appear to be idiots, and the Vong have gotten a lot farther using human collaborators (Peace Brigade, Viqi Shesh.)

The Galactic Alliance does create a virulent bioweapon lethal to all Vong and their biots, but it took many, many years and collaboration with the Chiss for technology the NR/GA simply never had. Your guess is as good as mine to whether the AdMech could do it faster or better, or at all.

Does this substitution mean that the Tyranids do not exist, and never have? I ask only because their invasions inspired a quiet revolution in biological and chemical weapons in the Imperium.

End result: the Vong Darkspace (Hyperspace) capability means they can go anywhere in the glaxy much swifter and in greater safety than other ships. Unfortunatly for them, the Vong come to this new galaxy as much refugees as conquerors. They need to establish a foothold, to plant some of their population from the great Worldships, turning them from refugee carriers into command ships again, as well as to start growing new ships and biotech.

In the early days, they can gobble most lightly defended Imperial Worlds easily enough, but the first Fortress, Hive, or Forge World they run into is going to give them serious trouble. So will any sizeable concentration of IG, Imperial Navy or Space Marines. If they get their foothold, they can make themselves into a moderatly serious threat, but it will take a little time and will require them to put reason before honor (luck with that.)

Even then, there will be several signifigant disadvantages for them to overcome.

And all of this presupposes that the infilitrators don't figure out what's going on on a galactic stage and tell the fleet to try their luck in the next galaxy.

[Boeing 757]

so the Praetorite Vong will not have a chance to establish a significant foothold in Imperial space

It doesn’t need to though, the Imperium cannot keep track of its own planets let alone monitor the galactic fringe. The first they usually know about an incoming Tyranid swarm is when it starts devouring systems. The Vong would easily arrive without notice and have ample opportunity to build up their supplies and forces. The Imperium is also a highly fractured entity, it is largely incapable of responding to a rapid threat like a hyperdrive comparable engine equipped Vong fleet.

This is likely their best strategy for taking the Imperium on, IMHO. How long will the Vong have before the Imperium detects them directly, or through the Emperor's Tarot?

the Imperium also has, AFAIK, many more ships and worlds within its dominion than the NR ever had throughout its woefully short tenure

Is this true? I thought that the SW galaxy which the Republic largely controls is much more densely populated than the 40K one and also that warships were far more prevalent, even if it is true the NR enjoys a much greater ability to concentrate its strength than the Imperium which is largely broken up by the unreliability of warp propulsion and communication.

Yeah, but they don't control anywhere near the amount of territory that the former Empire or even the Old Republic did. Their territory is almost certainly galaxy-spanning, but large portions of the Galaxy over which the Empire ruled are clearly outside of the NR's sway. Wookieepedia claims in fact that they barely had a million worlds under their control; at one time they held only a pathetic 11,000 worlds compared to the Empire's 51 million systems, mainly owing to numerous wars and political instability.

[bilateralrope]

It seems reasonable to assume that, being 'Force void', Vong would also have an equivalent psychic rating (probably somewhere around Rho or Sigma), and therefore no Warp presence whatsoever. Ergo, Chaos would have zero interest in them.

The Necrons, on the other hand...

If they are all nulls, wouldn't the smarter parts of chaos forces view them as a threat ?
Especially if they are spreading.

Also how would the Vong react upon seeing Ork machinery ?

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

If they are all nulls, wouldn't the smarter parts of chaos forces view them as a threat ?
Especially if they are spreading.

I doubt it. They'd have to take over a significant portion of the galaxy (and still capable of being a threat) to be of any interest to Chaos at all, I should think. Chaos in general cares very little about the Tau, for example. There are isolated incidents, yes, but nothing on any kind of grand strategic scale. Tzeentch plotting notwithstanding, but speculating on that is rather silly. Assuming they are roughly Sigma-level, Vong would likely be virtually immune to all but the most intensive Warp forces, with only (temporary and difficult) physical manifestations posing a threat to one another.

Really, the only point of my original post was to nip "chaos eats them!!!" wankery in the bud.

Also how would the Vong react upon seeing Ork machinery ?

The mental images involved fill me with glee.

"What is this... abomination?"

"Dat's da Dakkablasta Nine-Fousand, and it's gonna krump ya!"

Fuck the Imperium, Vong vs. Orks is waaaaay more entertaining.

[StarSword]

Okay, I've read basically nothing of the SW EU, so take this all with a pinch of salt.

They look significantly different to humans and don't have any equivalent to Genestealers that I'm aware of, so effective infiltration can be discounted.

Not true. The Vong possess creatures known as ooglith and gablith masquers, which allow a Vong to visually mimic virtually any humanoid race of similar height. Oogliths are for humans, and gabliths are for Duros, etc. Since the vast majority of the SW galaxy's races are humanoid, they probably didn't bother trying to develop masquers for oddballs like the Hutts. Straightforward foreign-language training takes care of the rest. This is shown repeatedly throughout the series, as Vong infiltrators are uncovered from the Outer Rim to the lower levels of Coruscant.

To ID a masquer-disguised Yuuzhan Vong without a Force-user present, you need to use a complex set of sensors to detect their pheromones, body temperature, etc. These sensors are incorporated into the Yuuzhan Vong Hunter combat droids developed in mid-war by Lando Calrissian's latest company. (The Vong actually used ooglith masquers to spy on the demonstration of the YVH droids, but the demo unit detected and killed them immediately after Lando ended the demo program.)

Don't the Vong give the New Republic a run for their money? I believe the consensus is that Star Wars and 40k ships are broadly equivalent in terms of power, while Wars has the strategic edge with faster and more reliable FTL.

I can't speak for the FTL part of it, but the New Republic develops countermeasures for most of the Vong's technology pretty rapidly (as in, Chapter One or Two of the second book). Just for starters, take the black hole-generating dovin basals that Vong use as both propulsion and defenses for their ships. They can be defeated by essentially tiring them out blocking rapid, weak gunfire. Once the dovin basal is too tired to block shots anymore, the X-Wing or whatever switches to full power and nails the masochistic son of a bitch.

A good percentage of the problems the Republic faced can be laid at the feet of demilitarization following the Pellaeon-Gavrisom Treaty that ended the Galactic Civil War (six?) years earlier, and at incompetence on the part of the New Republic's political establishment. Given that the Imperium is a military dictatorship (I think?), it may be able to respond much faster when it realizes the scale of the threat. They'll probably initially suffer the same technological issues that the New Republic did, but given how rapidly the NR came up with countermeasures...

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

Not true. The Vong possess creatures known as ooglith and gablith masquers, which allow a Vong to visually mimic virtually any humanoid race of similar height. Oogliths are for humans, and gabliths are for Duros, etc. Since the vast majority of the SW galaxy's races are humanoid, they probably didn't bother trying to develop masquers for oddballs like the Hutts. Straightforward foreign-language training takes care of the rest. This is shown repeatedly throughout the series, as Vong infiltrators are uncovered from the Outer Rim to the lower levels of Coruscant.

To ID a masquer-disguised Yuuzhan Vong without a Force-user present, you need to use a complex set of sensors to detect their pheromones, body temperature, etc. These sensors are incorporated into the Yuuzhan Vong Hunter combat droids developed in mid-war by Lando Calrissian's latest company. (The Vong actually used ooglith masquers to spy on the demonstration of the YVH droids, but the demo unit detected and killed them immediately after Lando ended the demo program.)

Nearly a third of the Inquisition is dedicated to exactly this problem, and as a kicker, another full third is dedicated to hunting down regular humans who merely harbor rebellious sentiment. So, being an alien infiltrator trying to foment rebellious sentiment falls under the jurisdiction of two Ordos of the Inquisition whose sole purpose and reason for existence is to exterminate said alien infiltrator.

That's merely the active response of the Imperium against infiltration. I seriously doubt Vong infiltrators would get very far against the intensely xenophobic and brutal Imperial power structures in the first place. One of the reasons that Nom Anor et al did well is because the New Republic was a very open and cosmopolitan society with a strong anti-militant, anti-police state mindset. Vong agents and informants couldn't reliably be stopped because the best the NR had was... the Bothans. By contrast, Vong agents are going to run up against a solid concrete wall of paranoid, xenophobic sentiment in the Imperium. Some outlying worlds with corrupt administration could likely be infiltrated thanks to the Imperium's decentralized nature, but the true power structures (the Administratum, Ecclesiarchy, etc) would be extremely difficult to infiltrate in the first place, nevermind the Inquisition's response.

Though I'm curious: it's been awhile since I've read NJO, so I don't remember. Just how well protected are the Vong leaders? The NR was too chickenshit to mobilize serious retaliations against the Vong, but the Imperium has no such reservations. Wasn't one of their worldships docked at a planet for resupply? Seems like a grand opportunity for a Temple Assassin.

[StarSword]

Not true. The Vong possess creatures known as ooglith and gablith masquers, which allow a Vong to visually mimic virtually any humanoid race of similar height. Oogliths are for humans, and gabliths are for Duros, etc. Since the vast majority of the SW galaxy's races are humanoid, they probably didn't bother trying to develop masquers for oddballs like the Hutts. Straightforward foreign-language training takes care of the rest. This is shown repeatedly throughout the series, as Vong infiltrators are uncovered from the Outer Rim to the lower levels of Coruscant.

To ID a masquer-disguised Yuuzhan Vong without a Force-user present, you need to use a complex set of sensors to detect their pheromones, body temperature, etc. These sensors are incorporated into the Yuuzhan Vong Hunter combat droids developed in mid-war by Lando Calrissian's latest company. (The Vong actually used ooglith masquers to spy on the demonstration of the YVH droids, but the demo unit detected and killed them immediately after Lando ended the demo program.)

Nearly a third of the Inquisition is dedicated to exactly this problem, and as a kicker, another full third is dedicated to hunting down regular humans who merely harbor rebellious sentiment. So, being an alien infiltrator trying to foment rebellious sentiment falls under the jurisdiction of two Ordos of the Inquisition whose sole purpose and reason for existence is to exterminate said alien infiltrator.

That's merely the active response of the Imperium against infiltration. I seriously doubt Vong infiltrators would get very far against the intensely xenophobic and brutal Imperial power structures in the first place. One of the reasons that Nom Anor et al did well is because the New Republic was a very open and cosmopolitan society with a strong anti-militant, anti-police state mindset. Vong agents and informants couldn't reliably be stopped because the best the NR had was... the Bothans. By contrast, Vong agents are going to run up against a solid concrete wall of paranoid, xenophobic sentiment in the Imperium. Some outlying worlds with corrupt administration could likely be infiltrated thanks to the Imperium's decentralized nature, but the true power structures (the Administratum, Ecclesiarchy, etc) would be extremely difficult to infiltrate in the first place, nevermind the Inquisition's response.

I will readily admit I know virtually nothing about the 40K universe. Thanks for enlightening me. This would, indeed, indicate that the Imperium would have much better chances against the Yuuzhan Vong, possibly even advance warning of the invasion.

Though I'm curious: it's been awhile since I've read NJO, so I don't remember. Just how well protected are the Vong leaders? The NR was too chickenshit to mobilize serious retaliations against the Vong, but the Imperium has no such reservations. Wasn't one of their worldships docked at a planet for resupply? Seems like a grand opportunity for a Temple Assassin.

The Vong leaders like Supreme Overlord Shimmra are pretty darn well protected if I remember correctly. But their generals have a tendency to lead from the front, which is not conducive to a long life. Just off the top of my head, Supreme Commander Shedao Shai and Warmaster Tsavong Lah were both killed by Jedi when they were stupid enough to enter lightsaber range (Shai entered an honor duel with Corran Horn on Ithor, and Lah was shot down at Ebaq 9 and killed by Jaina Solo).

Another supreme commander was the victim of an Alliance-Hapan assassination a la Admiral Yamamoto on 20th century Earth. (It required a full battle group to take out an enemy general, which gives you a rough idea of their leader-protection forces.) Sadly, I don't remember which books these took place in; can somebody help me out here?

[Eternal_Freedom]

Shai died in Dark Tide II: Ruin. Tsavong Lah died in Destiny's Way (which is also where the bit about male warriors being ordered to mate comes from. The other Supreme Commander was Komm Karsh, who died with his entire fleet at Obra-Skai. The NR/Hapan force got w hiff from Intelligence that Shimmrra was passing through the system and set out to ambush him. They got the wrong guy. That also happenned in Destiny's Way.

[StarSword]

Thanks.

I was going to include a point regarding the intel snafu on Komm Karsh, but I figured it was beside the point.

[Vendetta]

Firstly, these "Tyranid wave tactics" would not have been seen yet, since the Vong are replacing the Tyranids in the scenario as per the OP. Don't know about how well the Imperium handles melee enthusiasts, though.

The Tyranids are far from the only force that uses suicidal mass charge tactics. The Orks do it as well. Except they do it because it's fun.

Hell, the Imperium itself uses human wave tactics, the true strength of the Imperial Guard is in numbers.

[CBG]

Ooglith sounds like a slightly inferior version of a callidus assasin with polymorphine, that still doesn't get around the problem of making 40k humans, psykers especially, uneasy about their negative warp aura. The moment such a spy gets anywhere near a psyker or someone who knows about this phenomenon he is going to be in a world of hurt.

It would be much more interesting in reverse, i think a callidus assasin could easily masquerade as a Vong.

[CaptainChewbacca]

I'd be curious to see what Vong think of Space Marines. They were nothing but disdainful of humans in the GFFA, but I have a feeling once they saw some Blood Angels they might think 'Dude... you guys should relax a little'.

[StarSword]

The Tyranids are far from the only force that uses suicidal mass charge tactics. The Orks do it as well. Except they do it because it's fun.

Hell, the Imperium itself uses human wave tactics, the true strength of the Imperial Guard is in numbers.

I retract the point.

Ooglith sounds like a slightly inferior version of a callidus assasin with polymorphine, that still doesn't get around the problem of making 40k humans, psykers especially, uneasy about their negative warp aura. The moment such a spy gets anywhere near a psyker or someone who knows about this phenomenon he is going to be in a world of hurt.

Based on the name, polymorphine sounds like a chemical that causes the user to change shape. That's not how an ooglith or gablith masquer works. It's literally a living head-to-toe sheath that changes your appearance.

I'm not saying that difference would help any (in fact, it would probably do the opposite).

I need to do a minor correction of something I said earlier in case anyone tries to fact-check me. The NR bioweapon was Alpha Red, not Red Omega. (At least I had "red" and a Greek letter right.)

[Ahriman238]

I can't speak for the FTL part of it, but the New Republic develops countermeasures for most of the Vong's technology pretty rapidly (as in, Chapter One or Two of the second book). Just for starters, take the black hole-generating dovin basals that Vong use as both propulsion and defenses for their ships. They can be defeated by essentially tiring them out blocking rapid, weak gunfire. Once the dovin basal is too tired to block shots anymore, the X-Wing or whatever switches to full power and nails the masochistic son of a bitch.

Not really. It's true protracted battles can wear down the dovin basal, but that's actually not the point of stutterfire. The point is to fire four shots at divergent enough angles that a void can only stop three, the guns are set to rapid weak fire so they see more progress on the hits that get through sooner, and waste less energy on the shots that get stopped.

Though, as early as Dark Tide they set proton torpedoes to detonate when they detect a gravitational anomaly, because it's more taxing on a dovin basal to suck down an explosion than warhead.

We may as well address the elephant in the room, most of the Vong's early successes against the New Republic was because they were so different from previous enemies, with different tactics required to face them, especially in space.
In space, the Vong ships are made from a toughed coral that may or may not have a bug-like shell. Their primary weapon is lava-balls spat out by the ships themselves. They also employ vast suicidal swarms of space-dwelling, acid-spitting, three-meter beetles called gretchin (much fun, when you compare to a 40k gretchin.) They employ a creature with the ability to sense and manipulate gravity, the dovin basal, as a sensor/engine/defense. Capital ships can have hudreds of dovin basals, fighters will have just one. As a defense, a dovin basal can create a small black-hole that can suck in enemy fire, and move this void at will to intercept fire better. Again, Capital ships will have many dozens of voids, while a coralskipper fighter must choose whether or not to use one, and signifigantly degrade his figter's speed and agility.
Dovin basals are also used to "strip" enemy shields, stressing them with gravity until they give out, deployed as fixed orbital defenses, and at least once used to destroy a planet by dragging it's moon down.
The final key to the Vong's spacebattle is the yammosk battle-coordinator. It is a giant telepathic brain, that allows all craft to move with a precision experienced commanders envy, and react to threats as soon as their commander wishes it. It is no coincidence that the NR/GA only started winning after a yammosk-jammer was devised.

EDIT: The thing is, I'm not sure how well lava-balls and gretchin will work against 40k ships, and the Imperial Navy will likely try to get around the voids by just having more ships fire more weapons at them, because that's how war works where they're from. More Dakka, not just for the Orks.

[CBG]

Based on the name, polymorphine sounds like a chemical that causes the user to change shape. That's not how an ooglith or gablith masquer works. It's literally a living head-to-toe sheath that changes your appearance.

The works are different, but the use is the same. And polymorphine works better in this regard, it actually gives the inflitrator the looks and shape he desires, instead of just being a kind of biological stealth suit.

[Ahriman238]

Based on the name, polymorphine sounds like a chemical that causes the user to change shape. That's not how an ooglith or gablith masquer works. It's literally a living head-to-toe sheath that changes your appearance.

The works are different, but the use is the same. And polymorphine works better in this regard, it actually gives the inflitrator the looks and shape he desires, instead of just being a kind of biological stealth suit.

Also, a masquer comes off when you tap the left side of your nose. Kind of big weakness once the otherside figures that out.

On the other hand, I now have a lovely mental picture of IG men ready to march off to battle being lined up in front of the commisar and ordered to touch the nose of the man on their right.

[Serafina]

On the other hand, I now have a lovely mental picture of IG men ready to march off to battle being lined up in front of the commisar and ordered to touch the nose of the man on their right.

More like "touch your own nose or get shot"

Really, the only advantage the Vong have here is FTL-speed. They loose all the advantages they had against the New Republic:
- unfamiliar technology in a setting with very similar technology. The IoM is used to dealing with strange technologies.
- previous infiltration: won't work for reasons already adequately explained
- an enemy unwilling to commit to warfare outright: hardly the case with the IoM
- Dovin Bassals: Won't work well because many IoM-ships already rely on broadsides with a large volume of fire
- Their shield-stripping trick won't work due to different shield technology

Replacing the Tyranids with the Yuuzhan Vong would be a blessing to the Imperium of Man.